So, as most of you are you aware, we are experiencing somewhat of a heatwave in Europe.

Today, according to the weather, the highest temperature was 36 but felt like 41…and don’t we know it!! Christ, I’ve never sweated so much. It’s not even a particularly humid heat. It’s just hot. Like really hot. Cooking dinner is fun…

On the plus side the tan is coming along nicely!! Factor fifty all the way.

Due to the rising temperatures we thought it prudent to find a campsite that was near water, so not only did we find one right on the river but it also had a small pool too!!

And luckily for us, the campsite is actually about 6 euro cheaper than most of the places we have stayed. Also, at the river they have a bar where the drinks are cheaper than cheap. €2.40 for two wines anyone?

This morning we went on a little paddle upstream the wide expanse of the River Kolpe…a calm retreat from the…uh…’rowdy’ campsite (just kidding we are literally the only people here).

Afterwards we checked the map and realised that this river is the border between Croatia and Slovenia…so evidently we’ve already been to Croatia! Albeit a small wall onland and a meandering trip upstream.

So that’s country number six done…time for another wine!

Today we visited a really cool place in the middle of the forest. Surrounded by big mossy boulders, tall pine trees and broadleaves are the remains of was a WW2 partisan headquarters.

Base 20 had/has 26 barracks which housed the partisan leadership in 1943/1944 including huts for hospitals, kitchens and toilets. They went undetected by having super tight guards and covering their tracks in and out.

We were the only people exploring today, as seems to be the case on all big walks we have done, so it was somewhat eerie.

Most of the huts have had their roofs replaced along the way to preserve them but most of the buildings remain as is. They were either made of wooden planks or logs and we’re mostly built in natural sinkholes of the karst landscape. In one of the 24 hospitals of the region (only two remain standing) they had a nail shortage whilst building so had to use wooden pegs and fill the gaps with moss. They insulated the walls with paper.

It must have been a desperate place in winter here. It’s mad to think this is where about 180 people lived. And not only lived, but carried out political planning!

We even found a hidden bunker, which Ike was brave enough to climb down into!

It is ‘the only headquarters of any European resistance movement to have been constructed in such a secret manner and is an important monument to Slovenia’s statehood’.

Last night we took a dip into what is known as ‘wild camping’. Basically finding a secluded spot and camping, hoping the authorities don’t come and move you on. It’s free, and slightly illegal but if everyone’s doing it, hey! We’ll join in too.

Especially as it saves those precious euros – campsites seem to be in the region of €25 a night, which might not seem like much but to us is a fortune! So we’re going to start doing it for free.

And when you get views like this…why the hell not.

Camping neighbours are a right lottery.

Most of the time you say your hellos and goodbyes and pleasantries, sometimes you hang out for a few days like we did with a lovely Czech couple and their kid on a quiet campsite in northern Slovenia, and sometimes they really surprise you with a random act of kindness.

We met a lovely Scottish pair on our last campsite, who, when they left, gave us a gift.

We were out on the lake paddling as they left but when we arrived back at our tent we saw they had left a note and a bottle of wine for us.

How bloody lovely.

Whether they felt sorry for us buying our cheapo red wine from the supermarket (hello €3 for a litre!) or whether they had it left over from their trip or bought it especially – who cares.

What a kind thing to do! Na zdravje!

Have you been kind today?

Bled and Bohinj, oh how I adore you.

We’ve spent the last few days jollying around Lake Bled in Slovenia and my goodness it’s glorious.

I can’t even begin to describe the water. So clear. So blue. And a wonderful temperature to cool off in.

Despite being overwhelmed by actual people (we have been staying on campsites with barely a few pitches full) I loved Bled. The campsite was crazy busy due to being the only one on the lake, and also there was an international rowing regatta happening right on the doorstep, but it was super chilled. And we had the bonus of having super nice neighbours; some other Brits from Scotland.

The lake has the only natural island on Slovenia and they’ve built a church on there with bells that do not not stop ringing all the live long day! Round the back we found a catfish squad that couldn’t have been more curious about our boards…they were super relaxed just swimming underneath us. I reckon about 40 of them #squadgoals

We took a walk to Vintgar gorge, which despite feeling like cattle herded along was absolutely beautiful. Again, the colours of the water were insanely beautiful. Although I have to say it was hard to appreciate them whilst trying not to be scared walking over the tiny wooden walkways, barely a metre wide, dangling precociously over the rampaging river. Okay, so maybe not dangling but still… gave me the heeby jeebies!

We remedied the mass of tourists with another gorge walk; Pokljuka gorge. It was, shall we say, a rather rustic trek along a dried up river bed, over boulders and fallen trees and through sheer cliffs of rock. The sounds of the forest were divine, and the surroundings we’re just beautiful. I felt very small in the bottom of the gorge!

As the campsite had a three day minimum I felt like we practically lived there, and was totally ready to move on this morning.

And to another lake! Bigger, quieter and a different colour. A lot of the shoreline of Bohinj is green with algae. A paddle on there and a trip to Savica waterfall made the day.

Finished with some wine, planning and Skype calls with the family. Deeeeelightful.

Next stop – south!

We left Austria a few days ago after a couple of beautiful days at Weissensee. The lake is about 99 metres deep in some places and the drop off is like an underwater cliff! Certainly tests your balance when you’re on the board!

The colours of the water were insane, from the clearest of blues to the deepest of blues in a sharp contrast. Was beaut.

The campsite we stayed at was right on the lake, a fair few kilometres from the nearest shops. We decided we could make do with what we had for a few days so we settled in.

We talked a lot about where we are going next, but also of the past; memories of previous adventures, of relationships and friendships loved and lost along the way, but most importantly of our plans for the future.

One of the main aims of this big trip is to figure things out. What’s the next steps? What will we do? What will I do? Where will we live?

All in good time I suppose. For now our immediate thoughts are with planning the next days and weeks…

We took a few days downtime on a campsite just through the border into Slovenia in a beautiful quiet village called Jezersko, to make some plans for the days and weeks ahead.

I already love Slovenia, it is beautiful. Lakes, forests, mountains – what more could you want!

Next stop, heading west to Lake Bled and Triglav national park.

Lots of people said we would find it difficult to find stuff to eat on our European travels, especially in deepest darkest alpine countries where the national dishes mainly consist of meat and cheese.

Most of the supermarkets we’ve been to have a wall of sausages, or wurst, and I’ve literally never seen so many varieties! Like, a whole aisle of them.

But luckily for us, there are the old faithfuls (thank you hummus) with a big ‘vegan’ symbol on the front to lead us in the right direction.

Of course, we haven’t really eaten out being conscious of every cent spent and we have our lovely van to cook in. When we did eat out it consisted of beer and fries; I’m certainly not complaining about that!

The supermarkets are everywhere and have so much yummy fruit and veg we are very well fed. Ike is usually head chef with me passing him stuff out of the cupboards. Its like my own personal cooking show watching him cook up a feast, framed by the mountains or trees or blue skies in the background. Then I get to actually eat the food – winning!

Here is a selection of the yummy creations…

One of the main aims of this trip was to get outside and get on the paddle boards. It is SO MUCH FUN! And yes, it warrants the capital letters because it’s so good.Stand up paddle boarding appears to be extremely popular here, and it’s easy to see why; Bavarian summers are made for it.After leaving the city we headed down to a lake called Wörthsee: an idyllic location for our maiden voyage.

Pumping up the boards in 28 degree heat, after a sweltering drive in the van (note to self: next van needs air con!!), definitely left us yearning to jump in the cool water.

As soon as I got on the water I felt at home – I’m not exactly what you would call a water baby but sunshine and smooth lakes, with barely a ripple to be seen, certainly makes you feel good.

Taking in the views and hearing only the splashing of the paddles and the group’s chatting I could hear this buzzing kinda noise. What was it? Where was it coming from? I stopped paddling. It soon became clear. A fucking puncture!! Damn it!!

We soon assessed it wasn’t too bad and realised I could probably make it through the day without sinking so off we went towards the horizon.

A super chilled afternoon of paddling, lounging, swimming and ogling the beautiful houses along the shoreline followed.

So lake number one = done.

The next day we went on our first proper hike up to the top of Herzogstand. Standing at about 1800m high this was not exactly easy… especially as we started in the midday heat (I blame the slow start on drinking too much Pfefferminz schnapps the night before) and I’ve not really done any exercise in about a month!

A relentless three hour, calf busting ascent in searing heat took us to the summit, and man was it worth it. We were rewarded with stunning 360 views. Surrounded by the snow capped peaks of The Alps and glorious sunshine we revelled in our achievement. Then, time for the knee breaking two hour descent. Goodbye knees.

Feeling pretty achy the next day the boys had planned a chilled day by the Eibsee lake at the foot of Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze. We had originally planned to climb the mountain but there was still too much snow on top so instead we wallowed in the crystal clear lake at the bottom. Could not believe my eyes. Such a beautiful scene of turquoise and green waters and snow capped peaks that dwarfed the tiny pedalos that dotted the lake underneath. Heaven.

A paddle to watch the sunset off one of the island headlands of lake Staffelsee was fuelled by radler (shandy) and weiss wine and ended up in a night time paddle back in the dark – made especially fun as I had Ike on the front of the board as my puncture repair rendered my board useless for the evening! It was surreal paddling back in the dark, in almost complete silence. Only the birds for company. The reflections of the dusky sky and trees on the water messed with your eyes (and balance!) but we made it back without falling in, hooray!

It was time to say goodbye to Bavaria and our lovely friends, old and new. Next stop, Austria…

Ahhh München, always good fun.

After a quick stop over in Belgium, a visit to beautiful Luxembourg City, and a mammoth drive down with many car games we eventually arrived in Munich.

Just in time for Lu’s house warming party we practised our best ja genau and alles klar and went to meet some new German friends. Several beers and pfefferminz shots later it was safe to say we were well acquainted with those around us.

Hangovers were banished the next day with a few dips in the freezing cold river at the Englischer Garten; lots of ice melt from the mountains made for very cold feet!!

Next stop…off to the lakes!!

Oh my goodness we finally made it! The day is finally here! It’s been a year or so in the making but adventure day is finally upon us.

So many people have told me that it’s such a brave thing to do, which I guess it is. But then I guess there is also a rather fine line between bravery and stupidity.

Is it? Is it really happening? Is this real? Did I pack my toothbrush?

There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep rolling under the stars.